The Carmel Clay Schools board Monday night listened to half an hour of questions and concerns from parents about the district's decision to break up elementary "high-ability" classes.

The change would put high-achieving and average students in the same classroom rather than separating the top-performing children starting next school year.

In the 30-minute time limit, 14 parents and one student addressed the board. They asked questions about how the grouping would be implemented, how teachers would be trained and whether students would still be sufficiently challenged.

A few said the "challenge program" is the reason their families came to Carmel. Others questioned why the district was making such a sweeping decision without a permanent superintendent in place, asking the administration to wait.

"Nothing connects the dots for me," said parent Gaya Boyers, after reading the district's mission statement. "I’m thinking we should back up, wait for a superintendent to be put in place to help get clarity about the decisions you are currently making."

Under the new "cluster grouping" model, administrators said high-ability students will still be grouped with their peers, and would likely not be placed in a class with students identified as lower ability. The goal is for each class per grade to have some "average learners" in it.

Administrators said the decision is in part to help the district deal with a recent spike in high-ability students, a result of the state education department correcting and broadening the district's identification qualifications.

In third grade alone, the district went from slightly more than 200 advanced students in 2015 to almost 400 in 2017.

On Monday night, a few parents said the cluster grouping idea appears to be better suited for a district that has smaller class sizes and fewer high-ability students.

Following its policy, the board did not respond to questions from parents during the meeting.

"We have the same passion for your children as we have for our own, we all have children in the district," said board president Layla Spanenberg. "We firmly believe we will be able to ensure our children receive a high-quality education."

Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Martha McFarland listed some of the benefits of cluster grouping in a March 12 board work session, which did not include time for public comment. She said the structure would better serve students' social and emotional needs, and that advanced students would naturally serve as "academic models" for their classmates.

The change, which did not require a board vote, originated from the committee tasked with reviewing the high-ability program as part of the district's in-depth review of elementary programs.

McFarland previously said the district doesn't want to "compromise anything" when it comes to curriculum. All teachers will have access to both high-ability and grade-level materials, she said. She also pointed out teachers already work with different ability levels within their classrooms, even among advanced students.

Elementary schools will hold informational meetings about cluster grouping for parents between April 9-20.